*** A brutal week, with 17 of the 25 teams on last week’s ballot losing — many to unranked opponents.

Add to the ballot chaos: Very few of the unranked teams that produced wins over ranked teams were themselves worthy of getting moved onto the ballot.

For instance: Maryland beat Virginia but isn’t deserving of a spot on the ballot. The same goes for West Virginia (Kansas), Wake Forest (Duke) and Georgia Tech (Syracuse).

(I gave serious consideration to Oregon, which beat Arizona, but ultimately left the Ducks off the ballot. Their seven-game winning streak is a bit misleading in that the win at UCLA came when Kyle Anderson and Jordan Adams were suspended.)

*** The end result of all the carnage was, in the case of many teams, little change on the ballot:

Wisconsin … to cite one example … remained No. 14 because 10 of the 11 teams below the Badgers lost and because they lost on the road to quality opponent.

(I moved Nebraska onto the ballot this week: The Huskers have won eight of their past nine, a stretch that includes a victory over Michigan State.

(Nebraska edged Oregon for the final spot on the ballot.)

* Removed from the ballot this week: Texas, Iowa, UConn and Kansas State.

* Added to the ballot this week: Ohio State, VCU, Gonzaga and Nebraska.

* Note: Next week’s ballot will be the last of the season and will include my picks for the AP All-American teams.

Jon you overreacting to a short stretch at the end of a 27-4 season. It takes a mental toll on a team protecting an undefeated record. When it bursts, its typical to see a drop in play for 2-3 weeks. This team will rest, recharge and be ready again for the tournaments.

stephen rollins

considering how many close calls they had, a numbah 3 seed would be about right. But because of EC bias, they are in line for a 2.